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Re-applied the thermal paste on my MacBook Pro... AMAZING results!

monoxera said:
You don't want to do it yourself ... trust me.

I did it myself and being a PC geek, I still messed up on some parts but do fine now :)

If your laptop isn't THAT hot, I suggest not even reapplying it.
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It's pretty straight forward if you take your time and map out where each screw came from. My biggest issue is that things don't always fit back together perfectly unless you are meticulous, but that's more a manufacturing issue than a user error.
 
RexTraverse said:
Good luck with your repai.

Also... I've encountered my first "problem" since the fix. Since the fan speeds are regulated on their own and not set at a minimum 4000rpm, I find the constant speed changes incredibly obnoxious. Something comforting about the constant drone I suppose. :p
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haha quite ya whinging! you should feel safe that they arent revving up!
 
2 cents

After having overwhelmingly good results from applying AS5 I must say 1 thing,

I would guess to say that 1/2 of my results are do to just simply cleaning out all the dust and hair that got caught in the cooling ducts over the past 3 years. Since the fans are so small and delicate I would suspect that even the smallest amount of blockage would make a huge difference in cooling performance.

For those too nervous to reapply your paste (though it really was extremely simple to do) I would first at least try removing your fans and cleaning all of the remaining area.
 
I am considering a new MacbookPro. Is this issue still a problem or has it been corrected in manufacturing process???

Thanks...Tom
 
Tom R said:
I am considering a new MacbookPro. Is this issue still a problem or has it been corrected in manufacturing process???

Thanks...Tom
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I hope this has been fixed. This thread is quite a few years old though.
 
No problems with my mid-2009 MBP. Runs much cooler than my late 2006 model it replaced.
 
At the Apple store tonight...MBPros seemed quite cool...no pun intended.

BTW...new iMacs seemed quite hot...top half of the unit back side. Not sure if this is normal...FWIW
 
Hi,

I just wanted to confirm these results. My C2D mpb was always pretty hot, but in the last few days started idling at 70+ with fans at 6000rpm , spiking out to 100c as soon as any load was put on the cpu. Pulling the battery helped, but this was most likely due to the cpu crippling which happens with no battery.

Pulled it apart, cleaned it (i'm sure all the dust in there wasn't helping), removed the ample paste apple gave it, reapplied new paste (unfortunately I couldn't get any arctic silver, had to live with some generic crap). Now it idles at 60c @2000rpm, and I'm struggling to get it hotter than 75c. Much nicer. Thanks for the thread, no doubt saved me lots of $$ from apple.
 
Hey Guys,

First off, thank you for posting this extremely helpful information. My girlfriend complained that her Core Duo MB was overheating so I found this thread. I bought some Artic Silver 5 and Artic Clean solutions and followed the ifixit guide step for step (or so I think). I rebooted her laptop (fingers crossed) and everything loaded. After breathing a huge sigh of relief, I noticed a few weird things:

1. The previously stored network credentials were lost and I had to retype the password for my network. (restarting the laptop produces the same behavior)
2. The fans which I had previously controlled via SMC are now consistenly going at 6,000rpm eve though it's set to 2,000rpm in SMC.


Any thoughts? :confused:
 
interchino said:
1. The previously stored network credentials were lost and I had to retype the password for my network. (restarting the laptop produces the same behavior)
2. The fans which I had previously controlled via SMC are now consistenly going at 6,000rpm eve though it's set to 2,000rpm in SMC.


Any thoughts? :confused:
Click to expand...

#1 is probably a software issue unrelated to the work you did. Coincidence, IMO.

#2... well, SMC lets you set the MINIMUM fan speed. The fan driver can and will go above that. When you changed out the thermal paste, more heat was being dumped onto the heatpipes, which means the fans have to work harder to remove the heat from the heatpipes. This is the tradeoff, less heat staying in the CPU, but it means now the rest of the system works a bit harder to push out the heat coming into the heatpipes.
 
Same thing happened to me

interchino said:
Hey Guys,

2. The fans which I had previously controlled via SMC are now consistenly going at 6,000rpm eve though it's set to 2,000rpm in SMC.


Any thoughts? :confused:
Click to expand...

Turns out I forgot to plug in one of the many cables that must be unplugged during the process. For me I had to take apart my machine again and carefully reassemble it being sure not to miss anything (yes I thought I did the job perfectly the first time too). After this everything was fine and my book runs cool to this day.
 
Wow, you guys are great. I really appreciate the quick responses.

Krevnik - Thanks, I didn't think of it that way!

Mr Dobey - I think I'm going to try the same thing tomorrow, I was suspecting I may have done this.
 
Help Thermal thingy reapply temperature still the same

I've been having the same heat relate issue with my early 2006 MBP
today a reapply the thermal paste, but the MBP still at 68c to 75 idle, as soon I start doing intensive it goes over 101c.
Did I not reapply the right amount thermal paste, Or what could it be?
 

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Argh, I'm dying to change the paste on my i7. Stupid warranty, there should be a loophole for modders :)
 
rawd said:
Argh, I'm dying to change the paste on my i7. Stupid warranty, there should be a loophole for modders :)
Click to expand...

have people confirmed that the paste application needs reapplication in the new i7? I really hope Apple corrected this issue with their manufacturer. Although I can, im not to eager to take apart my brand new i7 MBP
 
I have 4 new tubs of AS5 sitting in my draw from my routine PC mods begging to get used but will wait for someone to confirm it helps the new i5, i7 models :D
 
Sutekidane said:
The problem could be a combination of anything really, so it's not really possible to claim it's one thing in particular without evidence. In this case, the evidence is everywhere, and results from fixing this issue are apparent. Apple has been making notebooks since forever, give them a little credit.

On another note, without the mod, my temp maxes out at 70 degrees C when the fans kick on and lower it. It idles around 45-50. I dunno how you guys could get 95 degrees, but then again I'm on the 1.83ghz model.
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Im on a 17inch i7 and my system idles around 46-50 deg Never seen it go past 80 for high intensity stuff, perhaps I got lucky with the paste and they did it right?
 
circusboy said:
I've been having the same heat relate issue with my early 2006 MBP
today a reapply the thermal paste, but the MBP still at 68c to 75 idle, as soon I start doing intensive it goes over 101c.
Did I not reapply the right amount thermal paste, Or what could it be?
Click to expand...

You want a thin, uniform layer

You do NOT want any airpockets (which could be a result of not enough applied) as air is a horrible heat conductor and worse than excessive paste
 
From my experience, It works better applying thermal paste (I use AS5) to either the chips or heatsink. T I use a small half grain of rice for the amount. Then I put it together. The pressure spreads out the paste evenly, or at least better than my razor blade smoothing attempt and finger spread attempt. The temps are around 5F lower letting it spread out for you. The thing is, once you put the heatsink back on, you cannot re-check your work, as separating them will make air bubbles, and then you MUSt re-apply it again.
 
Help Thermal thingy reapply temperature still the same

ouimetnick said:
From my experience, It works better applying thermal paste (I use AS5) to either the chips or heatsink. T I use a small half grain of rice for the amount. Then I put it together. The pressure spreads out the paste evenly, or at least better than my razor blade smoothing attempt and finger spread attempt. The temps are around 5F lower letting it spread out for you. The thing is, once you put the heatsink back on, you cannot re-check your work, as separating them will make air bubbles, and then you MUSt re-apply it again.
Click to expand...

I will try it again tomorrow, I think I did raise the main board, because I didn't pull the thermal sensor cord out.
 
My MBP for the last couple of months has started to run really hot. The temps on all sensors were higher than average. The temps on the CPU and Memory were alarming and uncomfortable.

So I decided it was time to take her completely apart, clean her and reapply thermal paste.

I followed the guide on ifixit.com though using a Phillips #00 screwdriver stripped one of my screws completely and lightly damaged every other one screw I tried. I tried three different Phillips #00 screwdrivers and they were all barely grasping the screws. The screwdriver that worked for me was the Phillips #000. Zero problems and fit like a glove.

I used Artic Silver 5 thermal paste and I used the cross method for its application. No fingers. No spreading.

I am glad to report that my CPU idles 10+ degrees Celsius less than it did before and runs about 5 degrees Celsius less under full load.

Memory is running between 2 and 7 degrees Celsius cooler.

Everything else is a couple of degrees Celsius cooler.

I am very pleased with the outcome. My 3.5 years old MBP is running as cool it did the first day I got it if not better. :)
 
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